South African Airways (SAA) will take to the skies starting this September after more than one year of closure due to bankruptcy.
The airline says in a statement that it will resume operations on September 23, 2021.
Interim CEO, Thomas Kgokolo, said they will start operating flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Accra in Ghana, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Harare in Zimbabwe, Lusaka in Zambia, and Maputo in Mozambique.
Kgokolo said the aviation sector is currently going through a testing period and that the airline under new management is aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
In January last year, SAA cancelled some domestic flights between its Johannesburg hub and Cape Town and Durban, and some international flights to Munich when it was fighting for survival.
President Cyril Ramaphosa led government failed to provide the airline $137 million (Ksh13.7 billion) of emergency funding it promised when the airline entered a form of bankruptcy protection last month.
“These cancellations represent a responsible strategy to conserve cash and optimise the airline’s position,” SAA said in a statement.
The decision to resume operations, however, came by surprise to some including Deputy President of the South African Cabin Crew Association, Christopher Shabangu.
“From the union side, we are surprised. We didn’t know as to when this was going to happen. We can only welcome the news, but it opens up a lot of questions. It should be done in a way that it’s understood by everybody,” said Shabangu.
